Hot beverages are desired by many people. These beverages include coffee, tea, and soup. Many persons in the United States and throughout the world consume hot beverages such as coffee and tea. Conventionally, coffee is brewed using a coffeemaker in some form, either percolator or auto-drip. These machines can be time consuming and take up valuable counter space. Tea requires water to be boiled by either conventional stovetop method, or by using an autoboiler. Any advantages to time saving with using an autoboiler are diminished by the counter space it consumes. Similarly, most prepared soups require separate heating, usually on a stove or in a microwave. Like coffee and tea, soup requires preparation time.
In recent history, these manufacturers have produced ready to serve soups. These soups are marketed toward consumers that do not have the time to prepare the conventional concentrates and mixes. These ready to serve soups still require heating, which means the consumer has to take valuable time from their day to either heat the soup over the stove, or own a microwave in which to heat the soup. If prepared over the stove, the convenience provided by ready to serve soup is minimalized as such utensils as a pot and ladle are still required. This process expends excess time by creating more mess and requiring a waiting period before enjoyment. Further, the consumer is forced into making the entire container, regardless of their appetite, because these soups do not have a way in which to store excess.
Beverage dispensing directly from a refrigerator is known in the art. Many residential refrigerator models containing beverage dispenser units are currently for sale. Several patents discuss different aspects of beverage dispenser units. Historically, beverage-dispensing refrigerators have tended to focus on dispensing cool or cold beverages. However, U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,230 envisions a refrigerator door mounted beverage dispenser that dispenses hot, warm, and cold water. Also see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,230 and US Patent Publication US2003/0097314 A1. Applicant does not know of any other apparatus which possesses all the claimed attributes and advantages of the present one.